5 billionaires who never graduated from high school

Years later, Ortega founded the retail chain Zara in his native Spain; the company has since expanded globally. Today, he is the second richest man in Europe (behind only LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault), with a staggering net worth of $70.4 billion.

Source: Entrepreneur, Forbes, CNBC

According to Forbes, Pinault dropped out because his peers used to make fun of his "poor background." Today, he has a net worth of $33.2 billion, also per Forbes.

Source: Business Insider, Forbes, Forbes

Jay-Z went on to become hip-hop's first billionaire in June 2019; per Forbes, he's currently worth about $1 billion. His fortune comes from his stakes in liquor brands, art, real estate, and in companies such as Uber, according to Forbes.

While he personally managed to find immense success after dropping out of high school, the rapper encourages people to take their education seriously.

"Education is super important," Jay-Z said in a press conference for a performance at Carnegie Hall. "I don't have a high school diploma or a college diploma, but still for me to articulate, I had to have some form of schooling to articulate my thoughts."

Source: Insider, Forbes, Mic, Syracuse.com

Soon after quitting school, Branson founded his first business, a student magazine, and eventually a mail-order record company. which later became the Virgin Records music label. Today, his company, Virgin Group, oversees nearly 500 subsidiaries. Branson himself has a net worth of $3.9 billion.

Source: Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Forbes, Biography.com